Only six days to Gondoliers lift off now......the pressure rises and I begin to feel a little redundant! Most of it is blocked and memorised, so when our wonderful pianist arrives on Saturday I can watch, glare, tweak and write notes - infact I can actually observe the moves much more closely than I am able when I have to wrestle with the piano score !
The full integration of the principals has now happened and so the whole production is beginning to take off ! We have had three long rehearsals and singers are tired, but they have two whole and entire days off, to rest, drink lots of water, sleep and NOT sing ! They all need to go over little sections which are evading them at the moment - the sort of thing which is always last minute.........lines at the end of choruses when the principal sings first.......but they still can't remember to repeat what the have just heard !
The hats look wonderful, the Duke has a flamboyant piratical type of affair for the second act, having worn a marvellously large black velvet riding hat for his entry. The Duchess is a vision of Queen Victoria in her youth, on a horse in the Highlands, possibly with the mysterious John Brown ! Casilda is resplendent in her huge hooped skirt and equestrian bowler, looking for all the world like a youthful Lady Mary from Downton Abbey !
The Contadine are 'hamming' up and flirting with Marco and Guiseppe is a slightly worrying fashion ! The Gondoliers are suitably bored with the handsome and dashing M&G, fast realising that the girls won't cast a look in their direction until the said two boys have chosen their brides !
Don Alhambra is revelling in the Spanish Inquisition, with lots of dark references to the ......torture chamber, and the mother of Luiz turns out to be a mysterious gipsy lady jangling Bohemian bling for all she is worth.
The sound is very good indeed, the chorus, who are after all the centre of any show, whether it be G&S or Verdi, are extremely resonant and full of life. With tweaks in the next 72 hours it will gel like a large bowl of musical trifle !
Watch this space !
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